Jerusalem, New

The symbolic name of the Christian Church (Revelations xxi, 2-21; in, 12). The Apostle John (Revelations xxi), from the summit of a high mountain, beheld, in a pictorial symbol or scenic representation, a city resplendent with celestial brightness, which seemed to descend from the heavens to the earth. It was stated to be a square of about 400 miles, or 12,000 stadia, equal to about 16,000 miles in circumference--of course, a mystical number, denoting that the city was capable of holding almost countless myriads of inhabitants. The Netu Jerusalem was beheld, like Jacob's ladder, extending from earth to heaven. It plays an important part in the ceremony of the Nineteenth Degree, or Grand Pontiff of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, where the descent of the Sew Jerusalem is a symbol of the descent of the Empire of Light and Truth upon the earth.